Perry grilled over clean energy budget cuts

Energy Secretary Rick Perry testifies before a subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee about the Energy Department's 2020 proposed budget on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 26, 2019. (Sarah Silbiger/The New York Times) less

Energy Secretary Rick Perry testifies before a subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee about the Energy Department's 2020 proposed budget on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 26, 2019. (Sarah ... more

Photo: SARAH SILBIGER, NYT

Photo: SARAH SILBIGER, NYT

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Energy Secretary Rick Perry testifies before a subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee about the Energy Department's 2020 proposed budget on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 26, 2019. (Sarah Silbiger/The New York Times) less

Energy Secretary Rick Perry testifies before a subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee about the Energy Department's 2020 proposed budget on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 26, 2019. (Sarah ... more

Under the budget put out by the White House last month, the energy department's budget would be cut to $31.7 billion next year, down from $35.7 billion in 2019, with more than 50 percent cuts to renewable energy, advanced manufacturing and energy efficiency programs.

"I understand the need to cut the budget but not at the expense of innovation," said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

"Science says we have 12 years to curb our emissions, to avoid the most disastrous effects of climate change. Why then is this administration proposing to do the exact opposite," said Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.

Since coming into office, President Donald Trump repeatedly posed massive cuts to the energy department, only to watch Congress go ahead and increase the funding from the previous year.

Perry, the former Texas governor, acknowledged his budget was unlikely to hold during testimony Tuesday, promising to "work with this committee."

"This isn't a take it or leave it budget," he said. "We can quibble about what the amounts are but we have a shared interest in american energy being sent around the world."

Among the technologies Perry cited Tuesday were carbon capture, advanced nuclear power and solar energy, pointing out his department had just made available $130 million in research funding for advanced solar technology, which he called the "largest in history."

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., implored Perry to focus on carbon capture, to allow coal and natural gas to continue to be burned without pumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

"We need a moonshot," he said. "My hope is that between the brilliant minds at [the energy department], our national labs and the private sector, we can crack this nut sooner rather than later."

Perry is contending with a Congress whose messaging on expanding clean energy is increasingly at odds with Trump's.

At a rally in Michigan last week, Trump questioned the nation's increasing reliance on wind energy, which along with solar represents the fastest growing power sources in the United States.

"If it doesn't blow, you can forget about television for that night," Trump said, adding, "I know a lot about wind."